Girls Tennis: Kennett dynasty prepares for season

KENNETT – The second day of official practice for the Kennett with Holcomb tennis team started early as the sun rose into the clouds on an abnormally cool morning Tuesday, August 8, and there is both excitement and a hint of cautious optimism in the air now that the team has won two consecutive MSHSAA Class 1 State Championships.

“We're excited about this year,” coach Janet Hilburn said. “We have a very young group, some are returning, but we are very young. But even our freshmen and sophomores have been working very hard all summer. I'm really pleased with what I see in their attitudes and work ethic, and I hope for big things.”

Now going into her 30th year as head coach of the program, Hilburn has led the team to 12 district championships, two fourth-place state finishes, and two state championships in the last 13 seasons.

Last autumn the team took on Chillicothe and Clayton at Springfield's Cooper Tennis Complex and “took care of business” for the program's second gold in a row. Last spring, however, five integral players graduated leaving three of the team's six starting varsity spots up for grabs.

Of those who made the trek out west on varsity, Carley Winston, Giselle Garcia-Gallegos and Macy Bazzell all leave big shoes to fill for the Indians' enthusiastic, but very young new team.

Last year's top three players are returning – Claire Bean, Handley McAtee and Christi Tejeda – and they will be joined by a large group of upcoming freshmen.

Even after losing five, with 20 players on the new roster there is an increased number of competitors all striving to be a part of what could be a historic run once again.

“I've told the girls that we have something to prove,” Hilburn said. “We have to get out and make a statement after all of our hard work over the spring and summer. I think they're all ready to make a statement.”

In addition to the team state championship, together Bean and McAtee also won first place in the individual doubles state championship. To finally close out last year's success, the duo was named Semoball's Girls Tennis Athletes of the Year last month.

“Needing five wins in a match, every one is crucial,” Hilburn said. “You have to have everyone working together as a team on all cylinders. In different matches, different people were key players. Even in the state championship match, Claire and Handley were down significantly, but they turned it around and it came from having mental toughness.”

She explained that over the course of the spring and summer the team has worked relentlessly on getting in shape while nailing the fundamentals of the game, and the team is continuing to practice match play.

Now, attention is being turned to some minute details and internal drive that spectators may not see during the match. Namely, that results in the mental toughness of her players, a critical element of a winning team which has prevailed over the last two seasons.

However, Hilburn lamented that aspects such as that come simply, and only, from experience.

“I have some who want to step up – some who are working and have the attitudes to step up – and we have have some new ones and some who were on the team last year,” Hilburn said. “But playing varsity is a new game. They've got to be ready to play, but they also have to have the mental game.”

Hilburn said most of the players on the new roster have participated in her annual summer tennis camps, some began their journey last fall and some are new the the game. But what all of them have in common is the drive to live up to increasingly high expectations.

The team opens the season with two away matches against Notre Dame and Charleston, on August 29 and 30, respectively. Kennett with Holcomb's home opener comes as they host Jackson on Thursday, August 31, at 4 p.m.